Rockets Lose Heartbreaker to Warriors, 105-103, as Road Trip Ends
Hard Fought Loss. Two Sinking Ships. Eventful Trip.
Houston outplayed the Warriors, but the Rockets fell short in Golden State. 105-103, to close out their five-game road trip. Stephen Curry’s shot at the buzzer won the game for the Warriors, who barely escaped Houston’s wrath. Curry continued to struggle, scoring only 22 points on poor shooting. Christian Wood led the Rockets with a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double.
At the moment, the Rockets and Warriors are two of the NBA’s sinking ships. While Houston may improve over the final third of the season, the Rockets are still a long-shot to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Warriors, who looked poised to earn the number one seed over the first third of the season, now could possibly fall out of home-court advantage. The Dubs will still be postseason-bound, but they’re struggling mightily to integrate Klay Thompson back into the lineup. More dangerously, it’s had a negative impact on Andrew Wiggins’ play, who was playing like an All-Star before Klay’s return. Wiggins will likely still be named an All-Star for the first time, but don’t expect him to regain his form from the first half of the season. Draymond Green is still without a timetable to return. And Steph Curry is having the worst shooting season of his career, and celebrates a win over the worst team in his conference like he won the championship. Golden State’s in trouble, whether you believe it or not.
Despite the Rockets heartbreaking-loss to end their road-trip, it was a successful journey nonetheless. Houston went 3-2 on the trip, and exceeded expectations with an especially impressive win in Utah. The Rockets return home where they’ll get three days off before hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.